Dance Fitness Tips For The Holiday Season

Winter is coming.

As humans we adapt to this climate in a much different way than any other species… we eat chocolate.

How do we combat this inevitable calorie-lined winter coat?

We dance.

5 Dance Fitness Tips for the Holiday Season

Dance Fitness Tip: Eat a Dance Sandwich

Sorry, this is not something you can eat to improve your Latin hip motion (we are working on that). This is a dance-nerd way of referring to your schedule when you come in. When schedule a single private lesson, group class, or party it’s like eating a single ingredient of a sandwich. Stacking them all together creates, you guessed it.. a dancing sandwich. This helps make the most of your dance evening; you burn more calories, you learn faster, and you’re taking huge strides toward dance fitness.

Here are some examples:

The Bread Lover’s: Group Class + Private Lesson + Group Class
The Meat Lover’s: Group Class + Private Lesson + Private Lesson + Party
The Double Decker: Private Lesson + Private Lesson + Group Class + Private Lesson + Private Lesson

Dance Fitness Takeaway: So whether you juggle work appointments, hire a babysitter, or block out a couple of evenings a week for your dance program, “stacking the sandwich” will improve your retention of the material, but, most importantly, burn some serious holiday calories. Dance Fitness points go way up.

Dance Fitness Tip: Enlist the Terminator

If you really want to achieve your dance fitness goals, you have to be willing to do something a little risky. You’ve got to tell your teacher. Now, there’s a good side and bad side to doing this.

The Good: The moment you tell your teacher what your dance fitness goals are, they will make it a priority. Maybe the word “priority” is a little too pedestrian. They’re going to approach your goal like the Terminator. Same posture, only better hip action. They will not stop until you have reached it. Never. Ever. Stop.

The Bad: They will not stop until you have reached it. Never. Ever. Stop.

Dance Fitness Takeaway: Whether it is dance fitness, or the scary thought of dancing at your next office party; your dance (Terminator) teacher loves a good mission.

Dance Fitness Tip: Take it to a better place:

Questionable sweets can be dropped off safely, and without judgement, at any of our Arthur Murray locations. If you truly want to eliminate the stress and burden of delicious goodies in your possession, you need not worry. We are told that Arthur Murray locations around the world are offering their charitable services for those seeking to dispose of Halloween candy, holiday pies, cakes, cookies, pastries, and anything else dipped in chocolate, drizzled in guilt, and sprinkled with temptation. We are here for you.

Dance Fitness Takeaway: Take away the temptation. Leave it in the lobby and get your butt on the dance floor.

Dance Fitness Tip: Spice up your program!

Adding dances like samba, hustle, salsa, or swing make a lot of sense because they are fun, up-tempo, cardio rich, calorie burners. Think of these like what they feel like: a cardio class. Since many workout philosophies these days center around variety, to keep your body guessing, and keep your brain more interested; we recommend pairing the heavy cardio dances with slow, sustained movement dances like Rumba, Waltz, Tango, and Foxtrot. These dances will challenge your balance and, therefore, develop your core strength.

Dance Fitness Takeaway: No one ever walked into a Yoga class expecting to do cardio, or vice versa. They each have their own purpose in fitness, and the same can be said about your fast and slow dances.

Dance Fitness Tip: Deadlines, Shmeadlines

The little devil on your shoulder, you know the one who tells you every day ending in Y is a cheat-day? Yeah, well that little guy loves deadlines. You know why? Because he can change them. Instead, set up your goals and rewards for achieving them around your Arthur Murray calendar. Why not? You’re a dancer now. The good thing about that is those dates won’t change. You’re attending to better your dancing anyway, so why not add a little extra incentive to it? Besides, there’s nothing like enjoying a well-earned tiramisu with your Arthur Murray family… even your Terminator teacher who helped you get there.

Dance Fitness Takeaway: We may not be able to ward off the temptation of all the delicious things that come with the holiday season, but spending more time doing something you love like dancing eliminates the need for the post-dessert walk of shame around your block in a feeble effort to start a sugar detox. So while your neighbors are doing that, be sure to politely honk at them, smile and wave as you drive into your local Arthur Murray for some fun fitness.

Dance fitness: it’s the only workout program where people are upset when it’s over.

For more information on the truth behind your favorite Holiday meals, we recommend that you check out: Stuff The Bird, Not Yourself by the Calorie Control Council.

For more information on what to expect from your first lessons at Arthur Murray, check out: First Lesson